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Math Mammoth Grade 5 complete curriculum

Math Mammoth Grade 5 complete curriculum belongs to the Math Mammoth Lightblue Series. This fifth grade math curriculum will eventually comprise two worktexts (A and B), an answer key, tests, and an easy access to script-made free calculation worksheets, which provide extra practice when needed.

As of November 2008, the first part (part A) of this curriculum is available for purchase for $14 download price. Part B will be written during the spring 2009 and will be available during the summer of 2009.

The part A of 5th grade focuses on

• multi-digit multiplication and long division
• simple equations
• problem solving
• place value with large numbers and the judicious use of calculator
• all operations with decimals
• statistics and graphing

Please see the table of contents for 5-A for a complete lesson list.

Some main features of the Lightblue Series books are:

• focuses on understanding of mathematical concepts
• uses clear explanations and lots of visual aids
• mastery oriented: concentrates fairly long on a topic, with fairly few topics per grade
• emphasizes mental math and developing number sense
• very little teacher preparation needed

AN ADDED BONUS! Buying this in Kagi store (as a download), you will also get Soft-Pak programs completely FREE. The 7 programs in Soft-Pak (4 math, 1 language arts, 2 testing) offer both on-screen and printable activities in a low-graphic, high content format. Read more and see screenshots.

Introduction

The fifth grade is time for fractions and decimals, in particular. We study them in depth and with substantial detail. Students also deepen their understanding of whole numbers, learn much more problem solving, and study geometry, graphing, and other smaller topics.

The year starts out with a study of whole numbers, their operations, and problem solving. Students get to review multi-digit multiplication and long division. Then we study equations with the help of a balance and bar models (simple diagrams). The main idea is to get students used to the idea of equation and what it means to solve an equation.

In the second chapter the focus is on large numbers and using a calculator. This is the first time a calculator is introduced in Math Mammoth complete curriculum - thus far all calculations have been done mentally, or with paper and pencil. I want students to learn to be critical in their use of the calculator - use it with good judgment. Every exercise where calculator use is to be allowed is marked with a little calculator symbol.

The third chapter is about decimals and their operations. It is a long chapter because now is the time to learn decimal operations well. It is assumed that the student already has a solid foundation for decimal place value, as taught in Math Mammoth 4th grade curriculum. That is the true means of preventing common misconceptions, or students resorting to rote memorization of the decimal operations.

In chapter 4, we study graphing in coordinate grid, statistical graphs, and average and mode. Today's world has become increasingly complex, with lots of data in the media, so our children need a good grasp of statistical graphs to be able to make sense of all that information.

Part B (not yet available) will start out with chapter 5, which is about fractions - another focus topic for 5th grade. We go through all fraction operations, and compare those with the corresponding decimal operations.

Chapter 6 takes us to geometry and measuring. There are lots of topics to study, such as classifying triangles and quadrilaterals, angle calculations, area and volume, and transformations.

Chapter 7 is a short chapter and has to do with number theory: divisibility and primes. This is also tied in with certain fraction operations, acting as a review for fraction simplification and fraction addition.

The last main chapter (chapter 8) has to do with tying together fractions, decimals, ratios, and a little bit of percent. Here will we use lots of comparisons between these concepts in word problems, and introduce students to the concept of percent.

This product also includes an HTML page that you can use to make extra practice worksheets for computation, and a list of helpful Internet links for each chapter.